Last Sunday, I spent quite a lot of my time at the big barn since I never really get to it. Two goats in particular made an impression. The first was a sweet boy named Liam who met me while I was taking pictures of his friends inside the barn. He rounded the corner and came to a halt in the goat in front of him so as not to run into me. I reached out a welcoming hand and he backed up. When I turned away, he tried to walk past me but there wasn’t enough room to get by without making contact, so he stopped. He stood frozen, hoping that he was invisible, I’m sure. The rest of his friends ambled around, sniffing me, disregarding me, going about their business. But Liam stayed stock still and stared at me.

Much later, I went back to the barn and sat outside. All of the animals had been fed and many were coming back out. One goat started to dance with me the way that Gulliver did when our friendship began. The butt bump sort of a “hey, there buddy, just checking you out, no big deal” kind of a welcome. I started patting his head and we became quick friends. The difference in petting him verses other goats was that he had giant horns. He liked to dig them into my back (in a friendly way! A goat massage, if you will). Somewhat awkward but certainly worth putting up with in exchange for everything else. His name is Jackson.

And these are his beautiful horns.

While we were hanging out, Liam quietly walked over and set up camp a few feet away from us, just watching the scene. No contact was made but I’m hoping for some in the future. As my circle of friends grows at the farm, my heart swells to include them.